A Short List On How To Avoid Getting Bumped From A Flight

11 Apr A Short List On How To Avoid Getting Bumped From A Flight

The video of the man getting dragged out of the overbooked United airline flight is haunting and disturbing. No one wants to experience getting treated this way. Here are the best tips to avoid getting bumped from a flight:

1.Check in early as possible

Many airlines bump the ones who checked in last. To avoid this check in online the day before or at least two hours before boarding.

2.Assign a seat online when you check in

It is harder to bump a person that already got an assigned seat. If you don’t have the possibility to assign a seat when checking in, know that this will give you higher chances of getting bumped.

3.Have luggage checked in

Understandingly, it is more work for the airline if they need to look for your luggage if they decide to bump you and you have already checked in the luggage.

4. Board early

Be at the gate when they tell you to and board when your group is called. The last person to board is typically the one to get bumped.

5.Don’t take the last flight of the day

If the airlines have already bumped people earlier during the day they will most likely take a later flight, which means that this one can get overbooked too. And it is not cool to wait until the next morning to arrive at your destination.

6.Be a member of their frequent flying program

Airlines prior loyalty. They don’t want to piss off their loyal customer and potentially losing them.

7.Avoid airlines that are known for overbooking

Unfortunately, it is common among airlines all over the world to profit from overbooking. The ones on top in the United States are United, Delta, Southwest, Skywest and ExpressJet. Where JetBlue are the best airline where they have a policy not to overbook. Even though many airlines do it. I recommend watching out for those who got the most complaints and lowest compensations. See the full list here.

8. If you can – fly business or first class

Airlines barely bump business class or first class passengers. The more you pay for your ticket, the less likely to get bumped.

9. Avoid connected flights

It is more likely to get bumped if you take more flights on your journey. This one is scary. If you get bumped and you won’t make it to your next flight. Here it is important to ask the airline and know your rights and get a travel insurance that covers this kind of issues.

10. Avoid peak times

I would avoid flying the day before Christmas or any other busy seasons. Everyone wants to get home at the same time and therefore it is more likely for flights to get overbooked.

11. Know your rights

In the US, the airlines are required to give you a written statement and the reason who gets bumped or not. You should also receive some compensation, either if it is a voucher, free flight or hard cash. If they force you out when already boarded and you don’t want to leave, know that you can sue the airline. Read more here.

Have you been bumped off a flight before? Tell me about it in the comments below.

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44 Comments

Ugh yeah it was AWFUL how he was treated — and it wasn’t his fault at all. They should have chosen people BEFORE the flight boarded. Thank you for sharing these tips — it’s always good to have insider tips to make travel easier and less stressful.

Getting bumped is one thing. Getting forcibly removed from a flight is a very different thing. We end up getting to our flights super early now because we have a two year old, but that doesn’t stop airlines from taking off late, due to their own issues, and bumping us from flights later because we were then late. Honestly, I’ve never had so many issues with one airline as I have with United. For the past 8 years I’ve only flown Delta, except when we went to Hawaii, and it has been amazing and without the hassle. Everyone has their flight horror story and unfortunately many of them are about United. I hope they learn from this… and I hope people also learn more about their flight rights.

So true. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your story. I have personally not gotten bumped before. I don’t think it is as common in Europe and South America as it is in the US. I also really hope they learn from this.

I am not going to talk about United and the passenger as the whole world as a view on this right now but great that you wrote this post just after this which I hope other passengers will look at this and think right, do I take these tips or do I get a United treatment if I got asked to be bumped off. LOL. But I have to admit, if I took in all that advice, I would just drive across the States otherwise I be flying somewhere between 10.00-10.10 in the morning and have to be a millionaire to fly in first class etc. (I am only joking). But seriously, get post, great tips and I hope that another passenger doesn’t get ‘bumped’ like the United passenger did.

I’ve been bumped off a New Year’s Day flight once. But I volunteered along with three other members of my family. They flew us home on a flight three hours later, and we each got a free voucher for another flight. It was totally a win-win (and that was with United). It is definitely a good idea to never book the last flight of the day to your destination. If you miss a connection on that flight, you’ll be staying overnight. I dont want to start a controversy, but if I was chosen to be bumped off a flight, I would rather stand up and walk out on my own and then negotiate a compensation than be dragged down the aisle — how humiliating!

I make sure to check in online as early as possible for things like this — although my main motivation is to pick the best seats. I fly pretty often and have never been bumped, luckily. You hear all these stories about people getting tons of vouchers, I’d probably take it if I had flexible plans.

These are some awesome tips. I live in the UK and that event is everywhere. From what I have heard from the news is that the passengers with the cheaper tickets are the one’s who are chosen, but checking in early might reduce that chance though!

I just flew with Spirit in January and it was amazing. Up until recently, I had no idea they could or would even need to bump someone? I mean, why over book in the first place? These are great tips and I am sharing them with all of my friends who do much more flying than I do! Thanks for the info!

The visuals of a man being dragged out of a United Airlines flight are indeed disturbing. Your tips are sensible and sure to ensure that such a situation does not arise. We try to ensure that we are well in time for flights, even though it may mean, killing more time at the airport.

This post comes right in time for that sad news about the man being dragged out of the UA flight. I’ve never gotten bumped from a flight, and I wish it will never happen. That said, we need to take precautions since overbooking is quite a common practice in the aviation industry. Great tips on avoiding flying at peak times/seasons and avoid those airlines that have a bad reputation on overbooking 🙂

Wow, that’s a lot of things to keep in mind! I was offered to stay off a flight once because it was overbooked. I declined as I needed to go to a wedding. They were very gracious about it and i was offered accommodation overnight. They obviously did it properly!

I had a very short layover in Doha last summer but despite the fact that the airport is very big, I followed the signs and I caught my flight in time. But before taking off I was asking the employees of Qatar the same thing: “are you sure I’m gonna catch my next flight? I have just 1h layover?” :)) Everything went well, though.

Jeff

In my opinion, United has been the worst airline (for treatment of customers) for years (at least 1980’s). I avoid them if at all possible. Their rules are insensitive and, on a number of occasions that I have noticed, violate common sense safety practices. I have had more problems with United flight attendants (uncaring, surly and downright rude) than any of the other 20+ airlines I have flown on. As this is a long term issue, I personally would not be bothered if they were absorbed by another organisation that overhauled their management (yes, this is a top down management issue) or they went out of business.

You wrote this post bang on time when the entire world is talking about this guy who got bumped. I’m sure many people wouldn’t have known what getting bumped might look like before this. Your tips should be read by all flyers to avoid being a target the next time!

Riely

Such sad, awful new of the man being taken off the flight by force. Such horrible measures were taken when the airline should be more accountable to their own mistakes. There should be some stricter restrictions on how many people airlines can overbook. There’s no need for this kind of violence.

In light of the recent news headlines, this is a very helpful and timely post. I always get my seat assignment ahead of time, but I never knew that this habit will decrease my chances of getting bumped.

Kyntra Strickland

Thankfully I’ve never been bumped, but am fearful that it will happens now that I know how often airlines overbook. Definitely getting flight insurance for our international trips. Thanks for sharing this great information!

Catherine Toth

I too have never been bumped, but almost every flight I take now with any airline, they are overbooked and asking for volunteers. I think the airlines need to take a little less profit and not overbook so much to avoid this problem. Also, I live in Chgo, United’s hub, and have had my worst experiences with delays and other problems with them…at their hub!. I always try to avoid taking United.